fiesta

IPA/fiˈestə/
KK[fiˈɛstə]IPA/fiˈestə/

fiesta — noun

  • fiestasingular
  • fiestasplural

1. a lively outdoor celebration or party, especially in Spanish-speaking cultures,

1.nounB1
Definition

a lively outdoor celebration or party, especially in Spanish-speaking cultures, often tied to a religious holiday and filled with music, dancing, colourful costumes, and parades

Example

The whole town joined the fiesta, dancing in the main square until late at night.

subject: whole town + dancing in the square

Every spring, the village holds a three-day fiesta with live bands and food stalls.

collocation: hold a fiesta

Common collocations
  • hold a fiesta
  • summer fiesta
  • street fiesta
  • religious fiesta
  • three-day fiesta
  • fiesta begins
  • fiesta takes place
Synonyms
  • festival

    broader term; a festival can be any organized series of events (music, film, food), while a fiesta is specifically a Spanish/Latin celebration

  • carnival

    more specific than fiesta; a carnival usually involves parades, costumes, and rides, and may have less religious connection

  • celebration

    general term for any festive occasion; does not carry the cultural or religious associations of fiesta

  • street party

    captures the outdoor, community aspect but lacks the religious and Latin cultural context

Grammar Patterns

fiesta + verb (the fiesta begins / takes place)

hold / have + a fiesta

Usage Note

In English, 'fiesta' is not a general word for any party or celebration. It refers specifically to a public event rooted in Spanish or Latin American culture, often connected to a religious feast day. Using it for a casual birthday party would sound unnatural to most native speakers.

Common Mistakes

We had a fiesta for my birthday at home.
We had a party for my birthday at home.
'fiesta' suggests a public cultural event, not a private gathering.
I am going to a fiesta tonight at a friend's house.
I am going to a party tonight at a friend's house.
'fiesta' is reserved for larger outdoor or culturally specific celebrations.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Fiesta, festival, carnival, celebration, and street party all refer to public festivities, but they differ in cultural scope and connotation. Fiesta carries a strong Spanish/Latin cultural flavour — it often implies a religious backdrop and outdoor community activity with music and dancing. Festival is the broadest term, covering any organized programme of events (e.g. a film festival, a music festival) and does not imply any particular cultural origin. Carnival specifically suggests parades, costumes, and sometimes rides or games, and in many places it is tied to the period before Lent. Celebration is the most general word — it can be private or public, large or small. Street party is informal and British-leaning, referring to a neighbourhood gathering on a closed road, without the religious or Latin associations of fiesta. For example, if you say 'the town held a fiesta for its patron saint,' you name the culture and the religious link; if you say 'the town held a street party for the royal wedding,' you describe a local British-style celebration.

festival ↗carnival ↗celebration ↗street party

Common collocations

Nouns

  • fiesta atmosphere
  • fiesta spirit

Phrases

  • hold a fiesta
  • have a fiesta
  • a three-day fiesta
  • the summer fiesta

Prepositions

  • at a fiesta
  • during a fiesta

Etymology

LatinSpanishEnglish

Fiesta entered English directly from Spanish, where it means 'feast' or 'party.' The Spanish word traces back to Latin 'festa,' the plural of 'festum' meaning 'feast' or 'festival.' English already had the word 'feast' from the same Latin root via French, but 'fiesta' was borrowed later (in the 1800s) to refer specifically to Spanish and Latin American festive traditions.